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Special Education Service Models

The charter application should describe the funding
and responsibilities for provision of services for
students with special needs. Special education refers to
those instructional and related services (such as
occupational therapy, physical therapy, etc.) that are
provided to students with disabilities in accordance with
an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Federal and
state laws require that public schools (a) assess
students suspected of having disabilities, and (b)
develop and implement IEP's for eligible students. A
charter school may :

Provide all of the services in compliance with
state and federal special education laws i.e.
Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)/
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (504)/
Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA),
traditionally contracting out to a third party or
parties;

Contract with the authorizing district for
services to be provided; or

Negotiate a combination of district contracted
services and services to be provided by the charter
school.

Since charter schools are sponsored by a local school
district in Colorado, ultimate responsibility for special
education services is with the Administrative Unit for
Special Education. Sometimes that is the district and
sometimes that is a Board of Cooperative Education
Services (BOCES). The Special Education Director in the
Administrative Unit has the responsibility to ensure
compliance with the state and federal special education
laws.

Licensure requirements for special education service
providers may not be waived. The Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that
requires that personnel providing the Individual
Educational Program be appropriately trained and
licensed. It is essential that charter school developers
and those involved with them understand that there are no
exemptions from any federal or special education law,
including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA),
and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA), which can be granted. A student in a charter
school, suspected of having a disability that may be a
reason for the student’s educational difficulty,
must be assessed and considered for special education
regardless of whether or not federal or state special
education funds are accepted by the charter school.